


what you are, in the light

by koumakyou



Category: Meta Runner (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Minor Original Character(s), Not Really Character Death, Redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:34:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29363337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koumakyou/pseuds/koumakyou
Summary: "The enemies of my enemy are my friends."Takes place after the events of S2E10.Tari and the remaining members of MD-5 escape into the welcoming arms of an old friend.As they crash at Marco's house out of emergency, a harrowing truth unravels in the meantime, and soon, they learn that things are not quite as they seem at the surface.Inspired by a little sneak peek from Glitch.Spoilers for the ending of S2 and potentially spoilers for anything after that.
Kudos: 9





	1. point of no return

"Hello. Dr. Amamiya, this is SCPD. This is exactly what you think it is. We will be here shortly. We're already onto the case, right now the main suspects have been apprehended and arrested. As the trial will be soon, and interrogations are inconclusive, we need further evidence, still, and we have entrusted your Forensics Department with the job. I'm pretty sure this will be a cakewalk for your team, Amamiya. After all, it's a foregone conclusion what happened here. Have your team contact us again once your investigations are complete. We need you to gather all the evidence there is. As this is a high-profile case, you ought to be diligent. Even though you are an expert on your field, we must not allow any mistakes or oversights here."

It was not quite a few hours after the incident happened. Dr. Amamiya was pacing down the dimly-lit corridors of Silica City Hospital's forensics unit. The ceiling lights were flickering, which was unnerving her quite a bit. It was odd, since she usually was rather calm in situations like this. Tonight was different, but she couldn't quite explain how. Dr. Amamiya quickly tried to ignore the feeling and opened the door to her laboratory.  
She examined the photos of the crime scene she obtained from the police department. Gun type, shot angle, wound placement, it couldn't be quite made out. She sighed and slumped into her chair, when her pager's ringing jolted her awake not quite a second later. _That must be him,_ she thought to herself, _great, as if I hadn't enough responsibilities already. Maybe I should've just gone to one of those gaming companies' science departments instead when I had the opportunity._ Amamiya paged the rest of her team. This one is too important for her to work alone. 

In the adjacent room, Mayu prepped some gloves and equipment. She was working under Amamiya's wing as one of her lab assistants. She took a quick glance at the dead body on the coroner's table. His blonde hair was disheveled and the right side of his face had a gruesome wound, obscuring where his right eye would be. He appeared to be dressed quite expensively, as expected of someone as important as him. Mayu scoffed. He was looking not quite dead yet, she thought, they've must have been quick this time with the _delivery._ She took to cleaning her surgical equipment, when she heard something shift. _Must've been my desk,_ she thought, and chose to ignore it.  
Until something sharp stung her in the back of her neck. Mayu quickly turned around, but her vision was already fading. The floor was turning and twisting until her legs gave in and she collapsed. 

Dr. Amamiya noticed the open doors of Mayu's office. She stopped in her tracks to find her assistant lying on the floor, out cold. Next to her, an empty syringe, with traces of something on the needle. And most importantly, _he_ was nowhere to be found. Amamiya panicked. This is not good at all. This shouldn't even be possible. There was no one else in the room but Mayu. Someone must've sneaked in here, dispatched her, and stole the body. But why would anyone? How, even, could anyone enter the lab complex? The main entryway doesn't even open without fingerprint scans. And then Amamiya noticed something else as she kneeled down to Mayu's unconscious body. She tried not to feel sick, but the sight was nauseating. _Someone cut off one of her fingers._

Dr. Amamiya quickly gathered all evidence she could find. She carefully picked up the empty syringe, the tools, and the bottles in the chemicals' cabinet.  
Her hands shaking, she grabbed her pager and called the rest of her team. "This is Dr. Yui Amamiya, Forensics Department. We have a Code Red. I repeat, Code Red. I need the staff to lock all entrances and exits immediately. Have them notify security and get them down here. This IS SERIOUS! S-someone got in here... the body is gone... Assistant Researcher Amane was incapacitated by an unknown assailant... he must be still somewhere here, he can't have left the hospital already, please, this is urgent... hurry, get **GOING!** We can't lose this case, this would have disastrous con..."  
Dr. Amamiya's pager slipped out of her hand and hit the floor. The lights darkened and turned into a cloudy, blurred haze. Her knees became weak and she was crouched on the floor, limbs shaking, growing weaker each second. She tried to pull herself up, tried to catch one last glimpse of the attacker. Bloodied smears of footsteps were everywhere. The lab's exit doors shifted open as Yui Amamiya saw one last thing before she passed out.

_His_ bruised, bloodied face. 

_"Looks like someone could use a ride."_ Bright headlights stopped Tari and her friends as they tried to escape the scene. Heavy footsteps could be heard as a towering figure emerged from the blinding light. Tari looked in disbelief, quickly exchanging glances with Lamar and Theo, who both stared at the strange man in front of them, puzzled. Only Sofia was not looking skeptical, at all; actually, she smiled, as if she were _relieved._  
It was truly a sight to behold. A tall, burly man, with four arms, two of them mechanical and attached to a backpack-like device. He looked quite rugged and Tari was instantly wary of him. Lamar was looking oddly ...anxious. He was glancing at Sofia, who still was grinning. "Marco?! What are you doing here?! How did you find us?", Sofia asked the strange man, in an excited tone. "...Sofia, this isn't good. Let's get outta here. We can't trust this guy", Lamar hissed to Sofia under his breath.  
"Ha ha ha! Looks like someone has second thoughts about all this, eh? Well, buddy, it's not like you have a choice.", Marco laughed. "Come on, Lamar, he's right. Where else do we go? What plans do we have? It's not like we could keep on running around here, out, forever." "Wait... do you guys know him? Who is this?" Tari asked, sounding somewhat worried.  
"Ooooh, he has four arms! Cool! I like this guy!" Theo interrupted them, enthusiastically as always.  
"Well, well, if it isn't TASCorp's rising star, Tari. Or should I say _was._ Looks like Lucks didn't have too much luck with his _treasure!_ " Marco said. "You can call me Marco. Old friend of Sofia here... and Lamar." "So, are you gonna get us out of this mess, for real?" Sofia asked. "Well, Sofia, you still owe me money for those Meta Runner arm parts... and you and your two friends, Lamar here and Golden Boy, screwed me over big time back in the Rustworks..."  
"Oh, _puh-leeeease,_ Marco! We won fair and square, and a deal is a deal! And it's not like you would get your money back if we're in jail, anyways, you know!"  
Marco scoffed at the ragtag bunch in front of him. "But I do not have an obligation to get you out of this, you know. What exactly is in for me if I help you?" Sofia smirked, knowingly, looking at her tablet. "Well... you do know we just took down one of the biggest corporations in Silica City, right? There is more than enough that is in for you if we come with you. ...Or you could leave your old friends hanging, and who knows, _maybe_ your luck will run out soon enough without us, too..."  
Marco frowned angrily, then sighed. "... _Fine._ Get in. It's time to get going."  
He turned towards the headlights, where their new getaway vehicle was standing. It was monstrous, of course, not unlike Marco himself. One could even think it came straight out of the newest installment of _Turbo Crash._ Sofia followed Marco to get into the truck, and Tari, Theo and Lamar followed, somewhat hesitant.  
"Are you sure 'bout this, Sofia? What if he-" "Oh, don't be such a killjoy, Lamar! Come on, get in, it's time to get moving!" 

After a somewhat reckless drive through Silica City's less pleasant parts, Marco's truck arrived in the Low Tier district, near the Rustworks. Marco stopped and turned towards the gang. "Looks like we hit the final stop, boys and girls! From here on, you're coming with me, so you won't get caught like your friends back there!"  
"But it wasn't their fault, Marco! They-" Tari exclaimed. "Ah, well, whatever. Sofia, you and your friends can stay here for a while. But I won't let you stay forever, just so you know." "Well, it's better than nothing", Sofia shrugged.  
"So, how much time we got?", Lamar asked, disdainfully looking at Marco. "Hmmm... I'll be generous today. You have two weeks. After that, you'll be on your own, if there is nothing in for me in whatever you're planning." Lamar and Tari were ready to protest, given the situation they're in. They quickly glanced at Sofia, with a doubting look on their faces. Sofia looked at them, reassuring, and nodded. "...Fine. Deal." Lamar agreed.  
The squad followed Marco through the narrow streets of the Low Tier, which was now devoid of people in the dead of the night. They arrived at a somewhat run-down looking abode. Marco reached into one of his pockets, fishing out a key, and opened the front door. "Here you go. Mi casa es tu casa." 

Once they were inside, they decided to crash on the couches in the living room, armed with some spare blankets for comfort. Sofia was waltzing about in Marco's kitchen, searching through his fridge. "You guys want anything? Marco said you can have anything that is not marked with the angry skull! Because that is Marco's Marco stuff, and if you take that, you-"  
"Um, I'm not feeling hungry right now, Sofia... it's alright", Tari replied.  
"Tari, are you sure, girl? You gotta eat, you know. It'll help you get back on your legs", Lamar said, worryingly looking at Tari. "At least get some water or something. Hey, Sofia, fetch us something to drink! Ya got any soda in there?" "You guys aren't hungry? That's weird", Theo said. "I could use a pizza right now, or a BIIIIIIG bowl of ramen!"  
"Oh, that's right!" Sofia suddenly jumped. "Marco still got some leftovers from yesterday's takeout! I'll ask if he'd mind if we help ourselves to some freshly microwaved pizza! I hope you don't mind pineapples on pizza, though..."  
Lamar was disgusted at the pretense of this. "Pineapples on pizza? What _sick and twisted mind would-_ "  
Marco suddenly entered the living room. "Hey, you're not in a position to complain about that, buddy! You guys can have what's left from yesterday, I already had me some. If ya don't like it, ya can either pick off the pineapples, or starve, whichever you like!"  
"Ooooh, did someone say pineapple pizza?! Neat, just like the Elder Tomato used to make! Let me at 'em, I'm hungry!!!" Theo quickly grabbed a slice and scarfed it down.  
It was when Tari, Theo, Sofia and Lamar settled down to eat together when suddenly, Sofia's phone rang. "Arghhh... who even calls at this time of the night? It's, like, 3am in the morning! Ugh... where did I put my phone again? Stupid thing..." Sofia rummaged through her pockets. "Ah... there you are! Let's see... who dares interrupt me at this time of th-" 

Sofia froze as she looked at the screen. Lamar instantly rose and rushed over to Sofia. "Sofia! What's wrong?" Tari and Theo looked at Sofia, at each other, then back at Sofia. "Sofia... what's happening? Everything okay?" Sofia turned towards her friends. "This number... This isn't possible. How..."  
"Wait... Is that..."  
"Something must have happened. Someone must have gotten his phone. This is just-" Sofia muttered to herself. After hesitatingly looking at her phone's screen, Sofia picked up. 

"...Lucks?"


	2. save data recovered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The remaining members of MD-5 investigate a strange phone call while trying to avoid alerting Marco's suspicions. Meanwhile, a familiar stranger has stranded in the alleys of Silica City's Low Tier.

"Wait... _what?_ "  
Tari turned towards Sofia, who was still looking at the screen of her phone.  
Lamar instantly barged in on her. "You can't be serious! We've seen what happened! We WERE there! This must be some sick prank!"  
"Lamar, wait! Can we at least find out what he- or whoever is on the other side of the call- has to say?"  
Sofia turned her attention back to the call.  
"Is that you? Who is this? Is this the right number?"  
There was faint crackling on the other side, and throughout, static could be heard in the background.  
"...Hello? Anybody there?"  
Still no answer, only the faint, static buzzing in the background; interspersed by odd, glitching noises.  
"Um, HELLO?!"  
Nothing.

Sofia sighed and hung up. "Guess you were right, Lamar. Apparently, someone at the police has a _very_ odd sense of humor. ...Or the phone glitched out."  
In the midst of a discussion about what just happened, Marco barged in on the group, quite possibly picking the worst timing for eavesdropping on his new roommates.  
"Eh, Sofia, getting weird calls in the middle of the night? Say, who would be important enough to do that? You and your friends aren't doing anything ...suspicious, are ya?"  
"No, Marco, it's nothing... it was just... um..."  
She looked around, somewhat nervous. Marco was eyeing her and the others with distrust.  
Lamar slightly nudged Sofia. "Um, yeah, it was Lamar's brother! Didn't expect to hear from him, at all, much less that he actually managed to get my number... ehehe... he was chewing him out for leaving his car behind, and I didn't want to bother discussing that with him. You see, he can manage to stir up _quite_ an earful, y'know? Yeah... so that's that. Nothing you'd want to get involved in. Sorry about causing such a ruckus."  
Marco still glared at the group in disdain. "Alright. Fair enough. I should make clear that if you do try to plan some sketchy endeavor, you're out of here. I'm not going to get involved with serial criminals, if you catch my drift."  
"Eh... we're just trying to stay out of trouble, for now. Don't worry about that."  
"I better hope so." Marco retreated back into his room.

Sofia watched as Marco closed the door behind him, and let out a huge sigh. "That was a close one..."  
"Yeah, but we gotta investigate that. Whoever called us using this number probably knows a lot more than we do."  
"You're right, Lamar, but how? We could theoretically triangulate the signal, but that more likely than not won't bring us anywhere. The chances that we just end up finding his phone lying around on some street or in some lab in an evidence bag are definitely higher than us finding something actually useful."  
"But it's a start." Tari suggested. "It's better than nothing. And whatever it is, maybe it could help us to get Masa and Belle out of their situation."  
Lamar agreed. "That's true. Either way, we would gain nothing from just ignoring this."  
"I'll see what I can do. I'll try to trace back the call's signal. You guys have to ensure that Marco doesn't catch any of this. We shouldn't raise any suspicions."  
"Understood." Lamar sat back into the couch. "So, besides that, what's the game plan? We got two weeks to bail Masa and Belle out."  
"Well, remember what happened? Masa didn't want to shoot him. His arm was suddenly glitching out. Almost if it was controlled by _something_ or someone.", Tari remembered. "Maybe someone got hold of his Meta Runner arm's controls. Maybe these arms can be hacked or something."  
Lamar suddenly jolted up. "Wait! That reminds me of something. Back when you were at TASCorp, we had to challenge the big guy to win some new Meta Runner arm parts for Masa. We barely won, but mainly just because _something_ jammed Marco's arms and they glitched out. I don't really know why or how that happened. But I _swear_ I saw some weird chip on one of Marco's arms. Maybe that thing caused his arms to malfunction. And maybe something similar happened with Masa's arm."  
"Oh, now that you mention it, I think I saw some weird round thing wedged on Masa's arm! Somebody must have sabotaged the arm when we weren't looking!", Sofia chimed in.  
"That may be possible. But who would do such a thing?" Tari asked.  
"No idea. But whoever did it, either wanted to take Masa or Lucks out of the picture, if not both.", Lamar said. 

It was the early hours of morning when something was stealthily making its way through the dimly-lit empty side alleys of Silica City. The break of dawn's faint light was breaking through the clouds and casting long shadows on the scenery of the run-down district. Heavy footsteps echoed through the empty streets, as someone clad in shadow was briskly walking through the low-tier districts of the town. Every once in a while, he stopped in his tracks, checking behind him, as he tried to make his way while averting the attention of the district's few loitering punks, hiding behind corners and containers and hastily, carefully scurrying from corner to corner.  
He never thought that he would end up in a situation like this, reduced to a shadow of himself, running around in the slums like a mangy stray cat. But much less he thought that he would even live to see this day.

But the situation was less than fortunate, really. Now, with his fortune seized and split, his identity erased and most importantly, his most important mission in peril. Lucinia Porter's body was still in a cryo-tank, hidden in what was once TASCorp. And the server, where her mind was trapped, has been seized, as well. It would be a race against the clock if he wanted to save her. But for now, that would be impossible, what with him being officially declared dead and a criminal, and most importantly, the last puzzle pieces nowhere to be found. 

Until today.  
All it took was a single call, and Derek Lucks knew the whereabouts of the remaining members of MD-5. Now, that he didn't have anywhere else to go, maybe he would wager one last chance with the only people who, all this time, were searching for the same answers as him. It was all so ironic, really, he thought to himself. Much less pleasant was the thought of having to drag himself through the rock bottom of Silica City to show up at his mortal enemies' front door.  
_Really? Somebody like you? Stooping down so low?_ These thoughts accompanied him as he continued to sneak around the town's side alleys.  
_Shut up, it's not like I have anything of a choice here._ He thought to himself, trying to focus and drown out the distracting voices in his head.  
He was still feeling dizzy, everything around him was shaking, and his ears were ringing. A head-splitting pain seared through his head. _At least the bleeding stopped,_ he thought. 

It was a lucky coincidence that Silica City's Hospital was situated in a part of the town near the outskirt districts. This way, Lucks avoided the crowded streets of the downtown, where he would immediately attract the attention of the citizens, even at this time of the day, even in his current state.  
He was wearing a black coat, the hood pulled over his head, the coat covering his blood-stained clothes. The gaping wound at the side of his face has been covered in now blood-soaked bandages, covering his right eye.  
He certainly looked like a stray animal now, he thought to himself. 

Clutching his phone tablet with his left hand, he reached the streets of the Rustworks, Silica City's wretched hive of low-tier, renegade gamers, gamblers and Meta Runners. 

The dawn of morning came, and Sofia was still busy tinkering around with her phone and laptop. Tari, Theo and Lamar were long asleep, lying around Marco's living room, with a carton of half-eaten pineapple pizza on the floor.  
"Boo ya! Gotcha!" Sofia exclaimed enthusiastically. This instantly woke up Lamar, who turned towards Sofia, still half-asleep.  
"Uhhh... what is boo ya, Sofia? Did you find something?"  
"First of all, _gooooood_ morning to you all! Luckily Marco's currently out of the house, he won't be returning until night. He's back at the Rustworks, you see-"  
"Yeah... that's good and all, but would you mind telling us what you found?"  
In the meantime, Tari emerged from her sleep, as did Theo, who already ran off to the kitchen to raid Marco's fridge for breakfast.  
"You guys... did I miss anything?", Tari said in a sleepy voice.  
"You are here just in time to find the results of Sofia Porter and the Mysterious Phone Call of Secrets!" Sofia laughed.  
"Yeah, so, where is that Caller of Secrets?"  
"Just a moment! I _juuust_ gotta enter the coordinates here... and ta-dah!"  
Tari and Lamar looked at Sofia's laptop's screen.  
"But that's... right around here, in the Rustworks!" Tari exclaimed.  
"Wait... it is? ...Oh my gosh, you're right, it _actually_ is?" Sofia said, in shock.  
"Yeah. I don't know how, but the map shows the signal of the phone, and it's around here. It must've been connected to the network this whole time. ...And most importantly, the signal is _moving_." Lamar noticed.  
"What the actual f-" Sofia stared at her screen, in disbelief. "We have to go look for it! This means the phone isn't lost! Someone actually used it to contact us!"  
"No! Wait a minute! We _can't_ just go out and follow the signal!" Tari interrupted a overly excited Sofia. "Who knows who it is? It could very well be some kind of trap!"  
"Yeah, Sofia. Maybe it's the police, trying to track us down, so they would throw us into jail, right next to Masa and Belle!" Lamar protested, panicking.  
"Ugh, _fine_. Whatever. I'll just keep track of it." Sofia sighed and slumped into her chair.  
"Good. If anything happens, let us know." With that, Tari and Lamar joined Theo in the kitchen, who already was on his third bowl of sugary cereal.

" _Dammit_ , Theo! You're not supposed to eat this much of that sugary, tooth-rotting stuff!" Lamar yelled at Theo.  
"But ish _sho_ good! The Elder Tomato told me ish okay! You should try it, too!", Theo replied, hastily shoveling down another helping of cereal.  
Sofia peeked at the trio currently busy with discussing Theo's eating habits. This was the _perfect_ opportunity.  
Stealthily, she sneaked out of the house, quietly closing the front door behind her. She sighed in relief and unlocked her phone, which housed a back-up of the phone signal's location data.  
She wandered around the streets of the Low Tier, following the traces left by the mysterious caller. She tracked back every path, but to no avail. Sofia sighed and looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary here.  
Sofia decided to look in the back alleys. She checked behind a large building, where she decided to climb the fire escape stairs. Again, she checked her phone, then her surroundings. Nothing.  
All of a sudden, a strange noise startled her. Almost like someone was following her. Sofia panicked and made her way up the fire escape's narrow stairs until she arrived at the buildings's roof, when suddenly, she heard a voice.  
"Well, I can't say _I_ expected all of this, either."  
Sofia turned around to see a strangely familiar face. 

"So it _was_ you."  
"What a very astute observation, Sofia." 

Lucks took off his coat's hood, revealing his bloodied face, framed by disheveled, blonde hair.  
"What a pleasure to meet you again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't formatting. send help.

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first time i write anything like that. i just had to, i guess.  
> also i apologize for any writing errors, i wrote this on a whim.


End file.
